Picture Perfect
by mindless scribbles
Summary: Why does Jessica Olsen hate Christopher Wilde? He, her supposed former best friend, has been ignoring her for 4 years straight. What happens when she bumps into him? Literally. A STARSTRUCK fic/rewrite. Jess/Chris
1. Chapter 1

a/n: so after watching Starstruck for about the millionth time, i realized there were a few plot holes in the movie. don't get me wrong, i absolutely loved it, but.... i felt a little something was missing. so this idea came up!

i changed up the plot a little bit, made sure there was a reason why Jess actually disliked Chris in the beginning... and yeah. just read to find out (:

this story's dedicated to _Bridget, _aka xxHeadInTheStarsxx, for being such an insanely amazing (hahah) person. go and check out her stories. i'm sure she'd love you for that :D

and we end this author's note with that. let's dive into the story, shall we? ;)

* * *

**Picture Perfect**

_A Starstruck Fic/Rewrite_

_by _mindless scribbles

-

-1-

_**Jessica**_

_-_

My sister was watching Christopher Wilde.

_Again_.

She didn't seem to even acknowledge the fact that he used to know us. He was our neighbor. He went to school with us. He knew our family. He knew that Sara's old pet gerbil liked to bite celery sticks without actually eating them. He knew that our family was pretty wacky. But most importantly, he knew me. As completely and absolutely _not_ true as it sounds, Chris Wilde used to be my closet friend.

"I just love Christopher Wilde." Sara said, bouncing in her seat with excitement. I rolled my eyes at her and grinned as I stepped in front of the TV, blocking her view. "Jessica!" She whined.

I turned slowly, _"Oh_," I replied sweetly, "I'm sorry, Sara. Am I blocking your view of what's-his-name?"

"Mhm," Sara said, a nasty look forming on her face, "Move it, or lose it, _sister_." After a while, she turned to me again, "And you _know_ his name."

I scoffed. Of course I did. And I was pretty sure Chris still knew my name, even if he didn't act like it. He talked about me _once_ in an interview with Libby Lam and never mentioned my face again. Fame sure has a way of changing somebody.

So how exactly did Christopher Wilde become famous? It was pretty simple. Albert J. Stubbons, otherwise known as "Stubby," our other friend and now Chris's sidekick, accidentally posted a video of Chris singing. What was he singing? The _National Anthem_. How original could you get? Either way, some famous agent guy named Marshall saw him and decided to make him move to LA to "pursue a successful career of music." Later, Chris decided to fire the stupid guy and his parents became his new managers. I got to visit _the_ Chris Wilde once. Four years ago. And then he became too busy and famous to even call or send an email once in a while.

"Sara, Jessica's suitcases." Dad said as he burst through the door, carrying my already packed bags.

"Come pick out your clothes and get packed," Mom added, "We're leaving for the airport right after your last day of school tomorrow."

Sara squealed and clapped her hands. She began sorting through the laundry, picking only the ones she thought were worthy of wearing while seeing Christopher Wilde. "In less than 24 hours, I'll be in Los Angeles where _Christopher_ lives." She paused, holding a colorful sundress, her eyes widening, "What if he picks me up at the airport?"

I snorted, grabbing a carton of juice from the fridge. "Why would he do that?"

"I'm an original member of his fan club. I follow his minute-by-minute blog posts, and I text him. _Every day_." She smiled, "Trust me, he wants to meet me."

Where were we going? To Los Angeles. Yes_,_ Los Angeles, where Christopher Wilde lived. But we weren't going to visit him. Absolutely not. We were going to visit my grandma. As much as I loved her, I basically threw a tantrum and tried my hardest to get out of the vacation when I first found out we were going to visit Los Angeles. Two years ago, she'd tried to get me to go visit his _fabulous _mansion. You have no idea how much energy and strength it took to get her to let me stay back at her house. I had a feeling this year was going to be no different. And no _way_ was I going to risk running into Christopher Wilde. But my attempts at persuading my parents to let me stay home failed miserably.

As Mom strolled through the room, I turned to her with a pleading look, "Is it too late for me to be an only child?"

She gazed sympathetically at me, knowing the relationship I used to have with Chris, and how much Sara's obsession with him annoyed me, "Yes."

"Then can I _please_ stay home?"

She looked at me again, this time not so sympathetically. "No."

"Why not?" I asked. It seemed perfectly okay with me.

"Because your grandmother hasn't seen you in two years."

Dad walked by, apparently having listened in on our conversation, "Plus, you're a minor, and it's illegal." He smiled and nodded.

"Everybody, shhh!" Sara silenced the room, "There's more about Christopher." She reached for the remote and turned up the volume.

"The fabulous Christopher Wilde picked up six music association awards last night, just in time for his new CD, "Real Wilde," to drop, _wow_, double platinum." Libby Lam's voice rang through the house. "I caught up with our favorite popstar on the red carpet."

Sara sighed and smiled at the TV again as an video of Chris popped up. He was smiling his famous smile at the camera, thanking his fans for their support . I stared down at Sara. It was amazing how she used to think Chris was this annoying guy who would always be over at our house, and now suddenly she _loved_ him and followed every blog, website, or TV channel about him every moment of her life. It was sickening.

"You're the reason I love what I do," Chris was saying, "You guys are the best fans in the world. Thank you." He grinned again, holding up his awards. I stared, realizing that he really hadn't changed much at all. Sure, he'd matured a bit, but he still looked like the guy who used to throw spitballs at Sara behind my parents' backs whenever he came over for dinner. But of course, looks were only one thing.

"He is _such _an amazing person." Sara whispered.

I tried to hold back my anger. "He's definitely _not _amazing." Which amazing person wouldn't even talk to their former best friend?

"Um, he _is_ amazing." Sara replied, nodding her head for emphasis, "And if you knew him, like I know him, you wouldn't say that."

I glared at her. "Hello? You used to _hate_ him. And think he was annoying! We also live in _Michigan_. You don't know him."

"But I do." Another one of those dreamy looks crossed her face. "I know everything about him. And what I thought of him before doesn't matter. We were meant to be."

I gave her a weird look. "Sara. You're _two_ years older than him."

She smiled, patting my hand, "Age is but a number, Jessica. One day, you'll understand what it's like to be in love."

What it's like to be in love? Sara was crazy, I was _sure _of it. And I had a plan, it was all sorted out. I'd go to Grandma's, stay at her house, occasionally go to the beach where I was sure Chris wasn't going to be, and successfully avoid him for the whole month long stay at Grandma's. What I didn't know was that _that_ plan was about to flushed down the toilet.

--

_**Chris**_

_-_

I leaned back in the seat of my car and inhaled deeply. Unfortunately, smoke and something nasty smelling clogged my nose and I started having a coughing fit.

Stubby, one of my closest friends and often known as my "sidekick," laughed and patted my back. "Still haven't gotten used to the smell of sweet Los Angeles air?" I gave him a look as I stopped coughing and he chuckled again. "Dude, you still have a _lot_ to get used to."

"Yeah," I muttered, "Tell me about it." Four years in Los Angeles wasn't nearly enough time to get used to everything. Along with recording songs almost every day, running errands and performing for millions of screaming fans, there was barely enough time left to enjoy even just walking along the boardwalk at the beach. That was why I _loved _the weekend. It was _my_ time, and trust me, I've learned to use my time wisely.

The sound of laughter and excitement filled the air. Girls whispered excitedly about recent gossip they'd heard, guys laughed as manly as they could about nothing in particular and walked in toward the Under 21 Club.

"Aha!" Stubby grinned, "Ready to party?"

"Absolutely."

"Well let's do it!" Stubby exclaimed. He sighed deeply and stared after the parked car, "You know, out of all your cars, Angelina's my favorite."

I stifled a laugh. "Angelina?'

"Yeah! I mean, look at her." He turned suspiciously toward the new valet. "Hey, does that new valet look a little shifty to you?"

I evaluated the guy and looked back at Stubby. "No, not really." I grinned at the worried look on Stubby's face.

"Well, she looks a little shifty to me."

I chuckled and put an arm around his shoulders. "Come on, Stubby. Let's find you a _real_ girl." At the words real and girl, thoughts of Jessica Olsen, my best friend from back in Michigan, immediately crossed my head. It'd been years since I'd had a actual conversation with her, and I'd definitely be lying if I said I didn't miss her at all.

I wondered whether she'd be visiting her grandma again. It'd be great if I could just suddenly appear at their house and surprise her. I felt guilty enough for not being able to keep in touch with her. After my music became big and popular, my managers, also known as my _parents_, decided I couldn't talk to anyone from back home. Apparently they'd heard that if a celebrity talked to ordinary people, their fame level would drop "below sea level." Who knew what that meant?

I'd always tried to get another cell, whose number nobody knew, and call Jess from that, but my parents somehow always found out. They either have spies living around the house or they're spies themselves. Luckily though, Stubby was still able to keep me updated on important stuff back home. Still, there wasn't nearly enough information on Jess. I still remembered the good old days when everybody at school used to tease us about having 'something going on.' It wasn't even like it annoyed me. In fact, I never really minded it at all.

"Oh wow. Look who it is." Stubby groaned, "Christopher Wilde's girlfriend, the fantabulous,_ fabulous_, Alexis Bender."

It really wasn't surprising that I was dating Alexis. It also shouldn't be surprising that it wasn't my idea either. To me, she was a good... acquaintance, but nothing more. My managers, however, think differently.

_"It'd be good publicity, honey." Mom said._

_"Yeah, listen to your mom." Dad agreed, then quickly added, "But not if you don't want to. In fact, do what you want." _

_"Oh, don't be so silly!" Mom playfully slapped his arm, "Every boy's already pining after her, it'd be great if you two started dating. Not to mention what a completely cute couple you guys would be." She winked._

After that, there wasn't much of a choice. When Mom wanted something, she made sure she got it.

"Hi Sweetie!" Alexis kissed my cheek. That was one thing I absolutely hated about our relationship. She called me _sweetie_, and _honey_, and _baby_. There was no way to even possibly _describe_ how much I hated being called those. Especially in a relationship. I knew that if Jess and I were somehow in one, there was no possibly way she'd ever call me those names.

"Stubby." Alexis acknowledged him with a look on her face that clearly said "I don't like you, why are you here?" And there was another thing I hated about her. She _never_ treated my friends with respect. When I first mentioned Jess, she slapped my face and told me never to mention her name again.

Alexis sighed contently and looked at me, waiting for her daily praise.

"You look beautiful tonight." I said through my teeth. I hoped it sound sincere enough.

"I know!" She smiled and stretched out her arms, suddenly stopping. "Just wait 'till you see what I'm wearing tomorrow!"

I looked at Stubby. He shrugged. "Tomorrow?" I asked blanky.

"Tomorrow?" Alexis repeated, as if that would've ever helped me remember whatever I was supposed to be remembering. She stomped her foot. "My _birthday_? Baby, you promised you were gonna sing!" Her puppy dog face came and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

"Right. Hey, I'll be there." I said, poking her chin, "Absolutely." And yet another thing I hated about our relationship. When we first started going out, she'd made a list of rules and duct-taped them to my wall. One was to obviously compliment her whenever I saw her, and the second one was to touch her chin when she was sad.

Don't ask me why or how that made sense at _all_.

"Okay." Alexis said, satisfied. She started to walk into the club but turned around. "Wait, something's wrong."

"Yeah," Stubby replied, "_You're _here." As Alexis turned toward him and gave him that _look_, he shrugged and tried to redeem himself. "What?! It's _guys' _night out." He turned toward me and muttered in my ear, "You know, it'd be much better if Jess was your girlfriend. _She_ wouldn't barge in on our night!"

"Where are the paparazzi?" Alexis asked me. I sighed. If you haven't figured it out already-- our relationship wasn't exactly something I wanted. _Especially_ since she loved the paparazzi. Everytime she made a public appearance, she'd make sure paparazzi were there, taking pictures of her. In contrast, I _needed _my privacy.

"Oh you did not blog again, did you?!" Stubby exclaimed just as big vans drove by, parking across the street from us. Alexis laughed as if she'd never thought such a thing would happen.

"There he is!" One guy with a rather... large camera shouted.

"Let's run!"

Alexis grinned, fluffing up her hair. "It's _so_ weird."

After smiling for what seemed like millions and millions of pictures, the reporters finally subsided, and I walked in with Stubby and Alexis, feeling content, at least for the time being.

Of course, being a celebrity meant paparazzi in the future. Being a celebrity meant taking pictures until you went blind. I knew that. We all knew that. Except what I didn't know was that a certain reporter, dozens of cameramen, Alexis, Stubby, and quite possibly Jessica Olsen was about to step in and mix up my life a little.

They say life has a way of changing itself.

You bet it does.

* * *

a/n#2- hello hello! again. :) i hope you've enjoyed this so far. if you guys like, i'll continue! hopefully we can get more people to start writing/reading Starstruck fics. there's not nearly enough D:

please post:

_hippopotamus_- if you loved it and definitely want me to continue

_stiiing_- if you thought it was okay, and want me to continue

_glitter glue_- if you thought it was okay, but might not tune in again

_beans_ (i just hate beans... lol) - if you hated this and will never click on this link again

thanks for reading! (: cookies for everyone who reviews. -wink-

-hayley


	2. Chapter 2

a/n: hola! thanks to the huuuge response you guys gave me, i've decided to go on with the story, hahah. but seriously, i love you guys. 39 reviews?! you're all amazing (: -hands out cookies- if you didn't get a review response, sorrry. i'll definitely respond by tomorrow!

anyway, this is the second chapter of PP. (yes, i'm labeling it as PP. hehe) obviously. so yeah... hope you enjoy!

disclaimer: I don't own Starstruck, or any of the actors/actresses in it. though i do wish a certain blonde cutie belonged to me ;) but don't we all?

thanks: **TeddyLuver. GleeksTaylorAlex13. wwsadd. monkey87. li'miss sunshine. PRETTYbandie. MidnightEclipse6. starbrightproductions. Livlov-Nevergiveup. Taylaa. vampbooklover3000. Ilovemydad. kitsune jewel. xxHeadInTheStarsxx. TrinityFlower of Memories. Animefreakkagome. pink princess 16.** starstruck luver95**. Dakey96. Gonewiththerain09. raven-anya.** guest. **misken67. Morningstar04. Julia Sonshine. Aimlessly Unknown. krissy0405. **hippopotamus hippopotamus. STERLING KNIGHT *fan*. **WhiteMoon1. elly755. da1wholikesawkwardlaughter. Sophie Cullen 6. stupid-cookie-cutter-popstar. **wildmage_of_galla. b. (**laughter . happiness. me.) allieroxs106. **ashash105.

(unbolded-anonymous reviewers. i didn't get to reply, obviously, but thanks for all your reviews! laughter. happiness. me- sorry about all the spaces. ff wouldn't let me write your whole penname? ff's weird. :P )

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-2-

**_Chris_**

Grinning, I leaned in and peeked behind the wall. Mom was pacing around with a worried look upon her face, while Dad looked slightly relaxed, only frowning in frustration when trying to adjust his tie. After fiddling with the thing for a moment, he moved and set down a giant cardboard cutout of me, which, to this day, still freaked me out every once in a while.

"He's late." Mom stated, stopping in front of Dad. I snickered and looked at the newest edition of Starstruck Magazine in my hand. "What's With Wilde?!" were the bolded words on the front page. Apparently, the paparazzi had snapped a particularly nasty picture of my face yesterday and posted it on the magazine.

My mom was going to very upset.

"Don't worry, he'll be here." Dad had said. He patted her back comfortingly.

"You need to manage him better." Mom accused.

He looked at her, "Hello? We both manage him."

Mom ignored his last statement. "He _needs _to know opportunities like this don't come everyday!"

"He knows," Dad replied, "He's not a kid."

I put down the magazine and hopped into the living room, hands stuffed in the pockets of my shorts. "Yeah, what's up?"

Mom gave me a disappointed look, "You're late." She reminded me.

I smiled. "Sorry, Mom." She sighed and gave me one of those cheek kisses. She'd actually learned it from Alexis. Apparently, you needed precise time and location on where to cheek kiss a person.

"Hey," Dad greeted, "How're you doing, son?" He gave me a big bear hug and patted my back.

"Great." I shrugged, then on remembering that Alan Smith was coming to make a movie deal with us, added, "Very excited."

Mom looked at my casual clothes distastefully, "Oh honey, honey, honey!" I refrained from rolling my eyes. Again with those sweet-pie nicknames. _Pie_ nicknames. "You could've cleaned up a little bit!" She went on.

"What?" I asked, sniffing my armpits to make sure my deoderant still protected my 'man-odor', "I'm totally clean."

She sighed, turning toward Dad. "He looks like a street kid, not a movie star."

"Oh, he looks fine," Dad reassured her, "Just be yourself, Christopher."

I smirked, "Okay, Dad."

As the doorbell rang, Mom gave a little girsqueal and ran to get the door. Dad turned to face me, his hands resting on my shoulders. "Okay, this is it, bud." He let go and clenched his fists, setting them out in front of him. Because of my completely _amazing_ comedic skills, I copied his movements and grinned, mocking him. "This is your chance at what we've always wanted," he continued.

I returned to my original position, nodding. Yeah, except it was more like the chance _they've_ always wanted. I was perfectly fine with being just a singer, but after _one _fan suggests I star in a movie, my parents go crazy. After hours and hours of talk of the subject, they finally just decided to call several movie companies in California. It went on for _weeks_, over and over until someone finally said there was a spot open in a new movie I could audition for.

Though it wasn't like I wasn't excited for this movie deal or anything. Being in a movie almost always meant success. Even if I didn't like to admit it, I _liked_ success. And of course, I didn't want to disappoint my fans. Like I've said a billion times, I wouldn't be where I am without them. Another plus was that Stubby was always there to help me through anything and everything.

The only thing I wanted was that Jess would somehow magically appear and go partying with us or something.

Stupid "sea-level" fame rules. I _really_ missed Jessica Olsen.

No lie.

"Alan!" Mom said, gesturing towards the living room, "Please come in!" She seemed a little overexcited.

"Sherry, Daniel." He acknowledged my parents and grinned. He, too, seemed exuberant about this. He looked around the wide room and commented, "Great place you got here."

"Oh," Dad said, shaking his hand, "Actually, it's Christopher's. We just kind of work here." I laughed and shook my head. They always liked to make it seem like they were my actual managers and not just my parents.

Alan faced me and held out his hand, "Christopher Wilde!"

"Mr. Smith," I replied, smiling and shaking his hand.

"My daughters are _big_ fan of yours."

A smile erupted on my face, "Oh, great!"

He stepped aside and continued to stare at the interior of our house. "_Wow_. This is great!" He chuckled, his eyes roaming over some posters of me. "I love this," He pointed towards them, "I _love_ this!" He raised his arms and yelled out as if he were some famous rock star. "Rock and roll! 'Ello Cleveland!" He turned and sheepishly laughed. Without waiting for an expression, he turned back around and began to look at the CDs placed on the ledge.

After about a minute of ranting, he looked at me and raised his eyebrow. "Alright, you know, let's just get _right_ to the point. I've been watching you."

As if that wasn't creepy at all.

"And... I like what I see."

I tried not to laugh hysterically as thoughts of gross perverted people crossed my brain.

"You are a talented, _talented _kid." He nodded at my parents, "He's a talented kid."

"Great!" Mom exclaimed.

"You sing, you dance," He paused, "I hope you can act?" I smiled, thinking of how I had to act like I was in love with Alexis everyday.

"Because I'd like you for this movie." He finished. Mom screamed in excitement.

"Thank you, sir." I replied, "I mean, coming from you this would be _such_ an honor--"

"But my people don't necessarily agree with me." He cut me off. Mom and Dad looked taken aback. "See," He held up another copy of the Popstar Magazine, showing the front cover, "All they see is a spoiled punk who likes to _tango_ with the paparazzi." I glanced to my right and saw Mom shaking her head at me.

Dad rushed to defend me, but Alan stopped him. "You have to prove that you're a serious and committed actor for this to happen." Upon seeing the confused expressions on our faces, he went on to explain. "On Monday, I'm going to meet with my people, try and sell 'em on you. In the meantime, you keep your pretty little face out the tabloids. _No_ press. Good _or_ bad. Okay?"

I nodded, "I can do that." Yeah, I could dodge the paparazzi. All I had to do was wear a cool disguise and stay away from Alexis when going out in public. It'd be great.

"In fact, stay home." He suggested. I must've looked surprised because he then added, "Look, kid. I know it'll be hard to stay at home without going to _crazy _parties for a couple of nights, but you need to know that chances like these come once in a lifetime." He stared hard at me, "Okay?"

"Okay." Chances like these came once in a lifetime. I shook my head. Yeah, like I haven't heard_ that_ one before.

--

**_Jessica_**

You'd think after hours of talking about Christopher Wilde, my sister and AJ would get tired and stop.

But I guess that didn't apply to them.

"Oh, he's just _perfect_!" Sara and AJ squealed as they flipped the page and a pop up picture of Chris came up. Somehow, in the midst of all the packing and checking off things on the to-do lists, Sara had managed to convince Mom and Dad to let her take AJ along with us. Why they'd agreed, I had yet to figure out.

"Oh, Sara! Did you bring your camera?" AJ asked, flipping her blonde hair to the side.

"AJ," Sara replied outrageously, "Of _course_ I did!"

AJ grinned, holding up their scrapbook of Chris Wilde, "Because we still need pics of Christopher Wilde!" They both squealed again. I groaned and slapped my forehead. Over hearing about Chris while sitting next to the two fanatics on a plane for 7 hours, waiting for Mom and Dad to get that rental car and drive us back to Grandma's and _still_ listening to them talk about the famous star, I was going _nuts_.

They stared at me. "Are you okay?" AJ asked, snapping her gum.

"Oh, don't worry." Sara said, "She's just tired of all the Christopher Wilde talk."

"Why are you both so hung up on this guy?" I asked, sitting up.

"This _guy_?" AJ asked, her mouth dropping open. I swear, she had the ugliest jaw ever.

"Now you see what I live with?" Sara asked, pointing towards me. "Little sister, just because Christoper Wilde used to be your best friend does _not_ give you permission to trash his name! He is _very_ important to us."

AJ stared at me, her mouth open and eyes wide, "You _know_ Christopher Wilde?"

"_Used_ to know him." I corrected her with a hard edge in my voice, "Now I have _no_ idea where and what he's doing."

"Well _we_ do!" AJ said, holding up their scrapbook. "We know where and when he's likely to be every second of every day."

After a while, their talking finally died down and Sara sighed, staring at the book in my hands. "You're _such_ a dork. You brought summer homework?!"

I smirked, "Uh, no. It's called _reading_. You guys should try it sometime."

They both feigned offense at the words. "What?" Sara asked as if that were the most ridiculous thing she'd heard in her life. She gestured to herself, "I read!"

"So do I!" AJ added rather defensively.

I dug into one of the duffel bags and brought up an issue of a Starstruck Magazine. "This? It's all _pictures_."

Ignoring my last statement, Sara snatched the copy away from me. "Don't touch that!"

"Gladly." I replied as Sara began to dust off the magazine. As usual, Chris was on the cover-- in fact, he'd been on the cover ever since he'd become famous.

As the two crazies began talking about him again, I glanced at their outfits. Sara was dressed in a bright orange polka-dot dress, complete with a plaid cardigan and a white purse. AJ was wearing almost the same thing, except in purple. I held back a smile. They were obviously dressed as if they were going to meet Chris. Like _that _was going to happen.

"What's taking them so long?" Sara whined, looking back towards the car rental, "Just get us a car already so we can go meet _Christopher Wilde_!"

I grinned as an image of Sara and AJ fainting when they saw Chris popped in my head. Maybe they _would_ eventually come in contact with him. That'd certainly be a sight.

A few hours passed; we'd arrived at Grandma's, AJ and Grandma exchanged surprisingly friendly remarks, Sara and AJ kept talking about Chris, and everybody had finally settled down in the house.

"Jessica, dear." Grandma said after a while, "Would you tell Sara and her friend up there to stop pacing? They're creating draft."

I obeyed and ran up the stairs. "Guys," I said, stepping into the room she and AJ were sharing. "Grandma says stop pacing. You're creating draft."

They both turned to me, their eyes shining with excitement.

"We just got a call from Mitchie." Sara explained, "She just had a chat, about a text, according to a blog about Christopher Wilde. He's singing _tonight_ at Alexis Bender's birthday party!"

Without waiting for a reply, they both said at the same time, "We _have_ to go!"

I laughed, "Good luck convincing Mom and Dad of that." There was no possible way our parents were going to allow this.

Before I could leave, Sara blurted out, "Go with us!"

I turned back into the room, giving them a weird look. Yeah, like I was going to risk seeing Chris again. "_No_."

Sara beamed, thinking that her plan was, of course, brilliant. "Come on, they'll let us go if you go too." AJ nodded quickly in agreement.

"How many times do I have to say this?" I groaned, "I'm _not_ interested in meeting that stupid guy again. I am sick and tired of hearing his name. He's all you guys ever talk about and--"

"We'll shut up." Sara said abruptly.

Both AJ and I stared at her, "What?"

"If you go with me, and I meet Christopher Wilde, I'll stop talking about him."

"If you go with _us_." AJ snapped.

I raised my eyebrows, staring expectantly at my sister. There was obviously something else she had in mind.

"...For the rest of the trip." She finished.

"How about the rest of your _life_?" I suggested

They both brought their hands up to their chins and walked towards me, faces molded into that puppy-dog look. "Pleeeease?"

There was no way out. I reluctantly agreed, and proceeded to draft out a plan that included _not_ seeing Christopher Wilde's face. And it _would _work out. Christopher Wilde may be only an hour away, but I wasn't going to let that affect me at _all_.

--

**_Chris_**

"Since when do you want to _party_ with my parents?" I asked, laughing at the solemn expression on Stubby's face.

"Are you kidding me?" He replied, "The caterer is from _Argentina_. There's going to be _steak_... for _dessert_."

"Tempting," I said, "But I promised Alexis I'd sing at her birthday. I'm not going to let her down."

"Let her down?" Stubby repeated, "You _hate_ her."

I cracked a smile, "Not to the tabloids."

He groaned, leaning backwards, "You and your stupid friendship rules!"

"Yeah, they work for you, don't they?" I reminded him, "Stay at my house for free, eat my food, drive my cars--"

"Okay, _okay_." Stubby interrupted, "And in return, you get to hang out with _myself_." He pointed arrogantly towards himself, "Albert J. Stubbons. Best friend since _fourth_ grade!" After seeing the nostalgic expression on my face, he added sheepishly, "I mean, besides you know, Je--"

"Yeah."

An awkward silence filled the moment. After a while, Stubby took a deep breath and pointed towards me, "Let's do this." He got out the car and marched up to Alexis, hugging her and wishing her a happy birthday. I chuckled at the confused look on her face and moved to put my hood up. I looked outside again and saw a girl with auburn hair, posing and smiling with a baffled looking Stubby. I leaned in and looked closer. The girl looked _too_ familiar.

She spun around and smiled brightly again, recollecting and reposing herself after a blonde shoved her out of the way. I looked even closer and recognized the features.

_Sara_?

It couldn't be...

Could it?

What was _she_ doing here?!

I wanted to go up and ask her, but there was no time for that. Stubby was probably walking quickly towards the back door and I needed to get there. Jogging around the club gave me a few minutes to think. If Sara was here... wouldn't Jess be too?

Stubby opened the door and gestured for me to enter quickly.

"Looks like we pulled it off." I commented.

"Heh," Stubby laughed, "What would you do without me?!"

I tore off my jacket and traded it for a new one. "Our birthday girl Alexis Bender has a special guest tonight!" A loud voice rang over the intercom. As I walked on the stage, I looked out at the crowd for Sara. Her parents would have only let her go to the club if Jess had tagged along with her. They were both here, I was sure of it.

Now all I needed to do was sing that song, wish Alexis a happy birthday, and find Sara, who would somehow eventually lead me to Jessica. It was truly a _perfect_ plan.

Too bad my plan didn't work out... and I had to run into the pretty brunnette a completely different way.

--

**_Jessica_**

I refused to look at him.

Even though I wasn't technically _looking_ at him.

Okay, I didn't want to _watch_ him.

So I just sat there in the front seat of our Grandma's pink car, arms crossed, waiting impatiently for Sara and AJ to get back so we could go and play shuffleboard back at Grandma's. Sure, shuffleboard was annoying but anything was better than _this_.

_"That's right, I'm in my shades,"_

_Urghh!_ I slapped the side of my head, trying to get myself to think of someone-- _something_ other than Chris. I hoped he was only performing one song; so then I could get the heck out of here.

_"You're the main attraction_,"

I groaned and bonked my head again. I was definitely _not_ the main attraction. Who even wrote his songs for him anyway? Did he write them himself? Why did he choose to perform that song anyway? It was the only song that I hated on his album-- it made no sense whatsoever.

_"No you can't see me,"_

You're totally right, Chris. I can't see you. Not at all. But then, as if my head had a brain of its own, it snapped to the right and looked up at the screen. Thankfully, Chris wasn't on the screen; Stubby was, dancing and moving his arms and legs around.

_"Shades on like a rockstar, and I'm busting out the best moves so far,"_

I couldn't help it-- I grinned. Stubby hadn't changed at all, still jumpy and being that pretty-boy he'd always been. After another minute of rapping and doing his crazy moves, the camera panned back to Chris and I jerked my head away.

My phone buzzed, indicating that a it had received a text. _Might be a while. STAY IN CAR. -Sara_. I widened my eyes and rolled my eyes. There was no way I was going to wait here for another five hours while they tried to run around and find Chris. I was going to have to take a big risk and go inside.

Grabbing my things, I stepped outside the car and crossed the road, stopping in front of the entrance to the club. There were too many people. I turned around, trying to look like I knew where I was going. Following a road that looked sort of safe, I walked until I saw a door. _Stage Door. Authorized Personnel Only_.

I shrugged and walked up anyway. Who cared if it was "Authorized personnel only?" I reached for the handle, but someone from the other side opened it first, knocking me down.

"Oh!" A voice gasped, "Did I just hit you?"

"No," I remarked sarcastically, "The door hit me by itself."

"Oh, this is not good." The guy in front of me said.

"For you or for me?" I asked, "Because right now if it feels a _lot _worse for me."

"This is _really_ not good." He repeated, looking around wildely.

I squinted through my blurry vision. My eyes widened, and I let out a gasp.

Squatting right in front of me was the last person I'd wanted to see. He was the reason I hadn't wanted to come to Los Angeles in the first place. He was the reason I hadn't wanted to come to this club with Sara and AJ.

I almost burst into tears-- and not only because of the pain in my head, but I somehow held it all in.

For the second time tonight, I refused to look at him. I refused to even open my mouth and utter out words.

"Hey, are you oka--" He looked closer in the darkness and it was obvious something clicked in his brain. He poked my arm to make sure I was real, rubbed his eyes a few times, and looked again.

He leaned in a little closer, smiling weakly. Our eyes locked for a minute. Then, he opened his mouth and let out a sheepish, "Hey, Jess."

* * *

a/n: heya. thanks for reading! hopefully we can get as many reviews as last time, it'd make me smile like crazy. lol

_smile like the sun_: you loved it, and are going to wait patiently for the next chapter. :)

_fall out of bed_: you thought it was okay, but still are going to tune into the next chapter

_sing like a bird_: you thought it was okay. possibly not going to read rest of PP

_dizzy in my head_: you hated it. period.

who can figure out the song according to those code word-things? here's a hint: uncle kraker. hahah

oh! and who can find the SWAC-related name in the last chapter? i totally forgot to ask you guys. lol. so yes, review? (:

-hayley


	3. Chapter 3

a/n: oh. my. you all are SO super amazingly awesome. i log on and i see that there's freaking 99 reviews for this story. ALREADY. :D AH. I'm so excited now. :D :D :D okay, anyway. so sorry for the wait. i know this chapter was originally supposed to be posted last week, but hey, i get distracted aaandn better late than never, right? ;) and plus- this chapter's pretty long. 13 PAGES. :O

this chapter will hopefully answer some of your questions you've been asking. :) aaand you can enjoy some spieling (is that a word? it's supposed to mean fighting... haha) between our two faves: chris & jess!

disclaimer: i don't own starstruck. come to think of it, i don't even own any of these letters i'm typing. HOW WEIRD IS THAT?! who even made the alphabet anyway? whatever. moving on. ;)

**_THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU: _**(yes, i used caps, bold, italicize, underline AND i didn't use punctuation. ;D and again, unbolded are anonymous.) **TeddyLuver. allieroxs106. Animefreakkagome. h2olgd. Taylaa. cherrypinky16. Ilovemydad. Sophie Cullen 6. Queen-Pip. Dakey96. caligrl479. stupid-cookie-cutter-popstar. monkey87. kutsune jewel. misken67. Julia Sonshine. PRETTYbandie. (laughter. happiness. me.) Aimlessly Unknown. li'miss sunshine. wwsadd. elly755. SKnightFan. **sTARSTRUCK. **vampbooklover3000. xxHeadInTheStarsxx. **STERLING KNIGHT *fan*. **scifichick07. **ashash105. **WhiteMoon1. MidnightEclipse6. AsphyxiatedSelfMedicated. Liz Night. **haRryPotter. **pledge520. KaylaSimms1990. Sportygirl458. DancingintheRayne. EmmKaylikesMusic. Hellkat53. **meme. **SterlingKnightFan. 1fanofthemarauders. **Lily. **RenesemeeRita. frowninggivesyouwrinkles. xpskl. x3OJDx3. SuperxXxgirl79. supertesz. **oxlifexo. **WinglesslyWinged. Treacherous Darkness.**

geez. that was a lot of typing. i apologize for any misspellings, etc. :) ON TO THE CHAPTER!

* * *

-3-

**_Chris_**

Jess stared at me.

I stared back. After minutes of staring at each other, I opened my mouth, prepared to launch into a speech of how she'd gotten here, why I hadn't been in touch with her, and a whole lot of "I'm sorry's". "Jess-"

"How do you know my name?" She asked quietly.

My eyes widened. Was I really _that _forgettable? Or was it just too dark? Was she teasing me? Was she mad at me and just refusing to acknowledge me? Or had she just hit her head too hard?

"Jess, it's _me_." I said, gesturing wildly, "_Me_. Chris?"

She smirked, "Chris? I don't _know_ a Chris."

"Sure you do!" I said, mostly to reassure myself.

She snorted, standing up. "Sure I _don't_."

"Yes, you _do_!" I argued, helping her up, "It's _me_. Me? _Me_. You know, Christopher Wilde? McKinley Junior High? We met in Miss Montclarke's second grade class-- when neither of us could open our cubbies on the first day of school!" Memories flooded my brain, but I pushed them away. I needed to make sure she was just playing with my head and _not_ actually some random girl who looked like suspiciously like Jessica Olsen.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Stubby appeared suddenly, his confused expression visible even in the dark, "What happened?"

"Ah!" I pointed hysterically, "Stubby! You remember Jess, right?"

"Jess?" He repeated, staring at the girl next to me, "Of course I do. I just emailed her back last night." He did a double take and poked her, "Jess?"

"Stubby!" She grinned, wrapping her arms around him. I let out a sigh of relief. She _had_ been playing with my head this whole time.

"What in the _world_ are you doing here?" He asked her, escorting both of us to the car.

"Ask my sister." She retorted. "Wait, what am I doing? I have to go find her!"

"Okay, okay," I said, "I'll go help you."

"Whoa, wait, are you out of your mind?!" Stubby exclaimed, "There's a billion paparazzi cars parked out there! You'll get _killed_. Remember what you promised your parents?"

"Well, we can't just leave her here by herself!" I said, "First of all, she just hit her head. Second--"

"You hit your head?" Stubby asked her.

She shrugged casually, nodding at me, "It was _his_ fault."

"Well, maybe we should take you to the doctor." He suggested, opening the car door.

"We should." I agreed.

"No, I'm feeling _fine_." Jess replied, exasperated. "I have to go find Sara, and--" Her eyes widened and her hand moved to clutch her stomach. "Uh-oh."

"Hey... _hey_!" Stubby yelped and started rambling in Spanish as Jess leaned over and puked all over his brand new, favorite, red shoes. "Ohh..." He moaned, staring down at them.

Jess coughed and wiped her mouth as I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to block out the morbid sight.

"These are my _favorite _shoes!" Stubby whined.

"I"ll buy you new ones," I offered, reaching my hand out for the keys. Stubby promptly dropped them in my hand and closed the door shut. "Make sure Sara gets home okay."

"And AJ!" Jess added.

"You mean Super-Mean Sara? Oh, _great_! This day just keeps getting better and better!" He exclaimed sarcastically.

Jess laughed lightly and patted his hand, "You just saw me again, so it's okay."

"And _don't_ tell anyone about this," I added.

He ignored both of us and looked down at his shoes. As I started the car and drove away, we both heard a distinct, clear, "I _gotta_ get some new shoes!"

The rest of the ride was awkwardly silent. I'd tried to start a conversation, she'd answer sarcastically, never taking any of my questions seriously. After a while, I gave up and tried to concentrate on driving, but there was something, just _one_ thing, that was bothering me. Jessica had _changed_. Not drastically, like from some nobody to a cheerleader-type girl, but enough so that it seemed like she was doing fine on her own, without me.

Had my non-existant communication with her really pushed her that much so that she decided to kick me out of her life?

"Jess-" I started.

"Oh, look!" She said cheerfully, pointing at the large sign out the window, "We're almost at the Doctor's!"

"_Jess_," I said again, "What _happened_?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, her voice dull again, "I got hit in the head, you won't believe that I'm completely and absolutely _fine_, and now you're driving me to some Doctor."

"I meant," I explained, knowing fully that she knew I was talking about what had happened between the two of us, "What happened between you and me?"

"What _happened_?" She snapped, pausing for a second. "Oh, _nothing_. You know, just that you stopped emailing, stopped talking, stopped calling, stopped _communicating_ or even acknowledging me for _four_ years!" She stopped to take a breath.

"Jess, it wasn't--"

"How is it possible that _Stubby_ still talks to me, while _you_, my supposed 'closest' friend just decides one day to forget about all the times we've had together and drop me out of your life?" I glanced her way and realized how much my non-communication had hurt her.

"You know," She turned away from me and tried to hide her tears, "I read somewhere that most famous people don't do that to their friends. Did you know _Miley Cyrus_, of all people, still visits her best friend back in her hometown every once in a while?" She laughed bitterly.

I sat still, registering the words. I didn't know what to say.

"But it's okay." Jess said, wiping her eyes, "I'm totally fine with it. I'm used to not having you in my life anymore. After this, you can just drop me off at my Grandma's and return to your _fabulous_, famous life. Have _fun_ with Alexis."

"Jess," I started to say, not really knowing where I was going to go with this, "It's not like that."

She turned and smirked knowingly at me, "I'm sure you're absolutely in _love_ with her."

"_Jess_," I said anxiously, "You need to hear this. I have to set things straight before--"

She cut me off again. "Oh, look!" She pointed towards the big building in front of us, "We're here!" She unbuckled her seat beat and quickly moved to get out of the car.

I sat, shaking my head for a moment, before realizing that she didn't know where to go. I led her in and used my skills of being famous to let Dr. Sanjay Dasari, my sister's husband, ignore all the other patients and check on her.

"Follow the light with your eyes..." Sanjay said. I tapped my foot and waited impatiently behind the curtain. "Well," He continued after a moment, "We did a thorough exam, and the CT scan was normal."

"And?" Jess inquired.

"Everything looks good." He replied.

I let out another sigh of relief and peeked in, "So she's okay?"

Sanjay turned and glared at me, "Out!" I stayed looking around aimlessly for a few seconds, but retreated behind the blue curtain again when Jess also gave me a look.

"There's also no head trauma, and I'm absolutely sure you don't have a concussion." He said to her.

"So," Jess answered, "How come I threw up?"

"Hm," Sanjay said thoughfully, "Maybe it was something you ate? Or maybe it was a reaction to meeting that _doofus_ over there."

"You're telling me." She mumbled.

I threw open the curtain again. "It's a curtain, Sanjay, I can _hear_ you." Much to my surprise, they both turned away and brushed off my remark.

"So I can go now?" Jess asked, eager to leave.

"Oh, yes," Sanjay replied, "But I want you to put an ice pack on that bump until you get home. I'll be right back." He pushed me away and stalked out of the room.

Jess and I avoided each other's eyes for a few seconds before she looked expectantly at me. "You going to answer that?"

I snapped back into reality and became aware of the fact that my phone was ringing. "Oh, right." I grinned half-heartedly and closed the curtain, holding the phone up to my ear. "Hello?"

"Christopher!" My mom's screeching voice was heard over the loud music playing in the background, "Come home!"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"_He's_ here!" She answered.

I raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"Alan! Who else?"

"Where?" I asked, before realizing that Mom was obviously talking about the party they were hosting back at home.

"At home! He's here, right now! You'd better hurry up and shimmy your way back over here!" She snapped.

"_Now_?"

"Yes, _now_." She replied, "We thought he wasn't coming, but he just showed up here with your two biggest fans."

I laughed, "Two biggest fans? You mean his daughers?"

She took no notice of my humor. "Look, you _promised_ you were going to stay home this weekend. It's up to you to fix this, _Christopher_."

When she emphasized my name, I knew she meant business. I nodded, "Okay, just stall them, I'll be right there."

I walked toward the curtain and ran into Sanjay, who was standing there creepily. "That's not a very good idea." He advised. "My waiting room is filled with big guys with _big_ cameras."

I thought for a moment before answering. "Okay, what kind of car are you driving?"

"Oh," He chuckled, "Nothing you'd be interested in. I'm still paying off six years of medical school."

I peeked in the curtain and gestured for Jess to follow me. "Perfect," I replied, "How about a trade?"

"No!" Sanjay replied firmly. "I _love_ my car."

I stared at him, "Didn't you _just _say it was lame?"

"I never said that!" Sanjay said defensively.

I held up my keys, waving them in his face. He seemed mesmerized. "Are you sure you don't want to trade? Only happens once." I reminded him.

"Well," He seemed to be contemplating the idea, "Okay." He snatched the keys away from me and turned, trying to hide the big grin on his face. I smirked and led Jess quickly to the side of the room. Quickly, I tore off my jacket and put it around her, despite her complaints, and reached around her head to pull the hood up. I waved off the intense glare from her green eyes and stepped back, surveying the results.

_She looks pretty good in my jacket_. I thought. The green complimented her eyes and--

What was I doing?! I needed to get out of here.

I pulled her out the side door and searched around for Sanjay's car. I knew I'd found it when I saw it- the silver car with the rusty smell. Looking around wildly for the paparazzi, I opened the door and pushed Jess into the seat, then run around to seat myself. The paparazzi were getting closer, cameras flashing as they took pictures of everything in hopes of catching me.

The car made a loud popping noise and Jess screamed. "Are you _sure_ this is safe?"

"Uhh," I said, "Pretty sure?"

The car popped again and she retorted, "_I'm_ pretty sure it's not!"

"Just calm down, okay?" I asked, unsure of what else to say. Jess's anger sure hadn't changed-- when she got angry, her words got snappy and you just became so mesmerized by the way she was always cute when she was mad that you really had nothing else to say.

Or maybe that was just me.

"I don't _want_ to calm down, I want to _go_ home!" She threw the ice pack at my face, "Okay?"

"Ow!"

"Stop screaming like a little girl, you're supposed to be a 17 year old _guy_?"

"Hey, stop that!" I defended myself.

"Just take me home!" She ordered.

"I will! But first," I mumbled, "We just have to make one _teeny-tiny_ little stop."

"Where?!" She demanded. I refused to answer. I was too busy thinking of ways to apologize to her, get her to forgive me, and how to explain why I didn't keep in touch with her.

The ride back to her Grandma's would give us plenty of time to talk about _that_.

--

**_Jess_**

To sum up Chris's house in one word, it'd be _humungous_. The size of it was like a hotel, _literally_. I seriously began to wonder if he had people stay there for money.

"You've got be kidding me," I mumbled, "You _live_ here?"

"Yeah, why?" He asked nonchalantly.

I didn't answer and stared up at the giant poster of him posing with his guitar. As much as I tried to, I couldn't stop the one thought that crossed my mind.

He looked _good_.

"Okay," Chris said, pulling me toward the long, winding staircase, "Go!"

"What are you _doing_?"

"Gotta go upstairs." He said hurriedly, still dragging me along with him.

"Stop. Pulling. Me." I said through my teeth, getting dizzy from all the stairs.

"_Sorry_."

"Where are we going?" No reply. "Chris!"

"I'm sorry," He apologized again, "I just, I don't know--"

"Don't know where to hide me?"

"No," He seemed ready to begin pulling out his hair, "I'm not _hiding _you, I just don't want these people to..." He peered over the banister, "... to see you, right now." He finished.

I stared. "Because I'm not a movie star? And because you haven't talked to me in four years?"

"No!" He replied rather quickly, "I don't want anyone asking questions. And neither do you!" He imitated an annoying person, "Who is she? Where'd you meet her? Are you two _dating_?!"

"Dating?" I asked, trying to keep myself from flushing red.

"They make stuff up." He explained, glancing over at the crowd of people again. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and raced over to the room with a glass door. "Um... the guest room." He said, "Be my guest."

I stared around the room and laughed, "Do I have a _choice_?"

"Not really." He replied. "I'll be right back. Just... _stay_."

"Woof." I imitated a dog and proceeded to look at the big flashing sigh above the giant bed. My hands still tingled from when he grabbed them.

Not that that _meant_ anything.

The fact that he was downstairs mingling with famous people gave me time to think. I looked around the room once more first, looking for a place to sit down without him freaking out once he came back. My eyes lingering on the huge, block letters of Chris Wilde on the wall. How much had that thing cost?

I decided on sitting down on the edge of the bed. Hopefully, I wouldn't fall asleep and Chris wouldn't come back and yell at me for not 'staying put.' I smoothed down my dress and sat awkwardly, facing the glass door. My legs started feeling stiff after only a minute or two, so I got up and crossed over to the balcony. I could see plenty of people dancing, sipping their drinks, laughing, or just talking. Craning my neck over the edge, I squinted, thinking I could somehow find Chris in the midst of all this.

I did.

Even from far away, his blue eyes seemed to _pop_, and his dimples were plainly revealed when he smiled. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he wasn't just plain average looking.

Not that I thought he was _cute_ or anything.

_I'm totally fine with it. I'm used to not having you in my life anymore. After this, you can just drop me off at my Grandma's and return_ to your fabulous, famous life. Have fun with Alexis. The sentence suddenly popped up in my head. Why had I even said that? I wasn't fine with it, I _still_ wasn't used to not having him or Stubby around, and I _didn't_ want him to just drop me off and forget about me again.

So I'd lied. But who cared? Knowing the new Chris, he'd probably do exactly what I told him and within minutes he'd be completely oblivious to the fact that I was there anymore. And anyway, there had been some degree of truth in what I'd said. I didn't care about him being with Alexis.

Did I?

I shook my head furiously and tried to think of something, _anything_ besides the guy sitting on that chair with a guitar and a infectious voice below the balcony. I raised my eyebrow and stared, listening to Chris's song against the otherwise silent audience. How the audience had calmed down to this level was beyond me.

_"I'll be your hero..._"

I tried to stop myself, but I couldn't. I always _had_ to analyze songs. Who was he talking about? Was it Alexis? I thought for sure he was only dating her for publicity. Was I wrong? Had he just changed so much that I didn't even know him anymore?

The applause interrupted my thoughts. My _crazy_ thoughts. I took a deep breath and decided to go on a wild search for the garage. Sure, I technically didn't have my liscense yet, but Grandma's house wasn't that far away. I could drive there, dump one of his cars in a puddle and everything would be great.

Taking one last look down, I crept out of the room on my tiptoes. I knew it was stupid to think someone might see me, but I walked slowly and quietly anyway.

Grinning, I bit my lip as I came down to the living room without any attention. I had always considered being a spy when I grew up. Turning around, I closed my eyes and picked the first door I pointed to. Luckily, it was actually the garage and I stepped inside.

Standing right in front of me were six cars. _Beautiful_ cars. Cars I _wish _I could afford.

"Hey," A voice said behind me, "Where are you going?"

I whipped around and was relieved to only find Chris standing there casually, putting on a sweatshirt. "For a second I thought you were some creep that followed me."

He raised his eyebrows. "Do I _look_ like a creep?"

"No," I answered, "But you do kind of sound like one."

He mocked offense. "I'm offended. So where were you planning to take off?"

"Anywhere but here. You said you'd take me home. When?" I asked. The words came out more angry than I'd planned.

"Just pick a car," He said, "I'll take you home now."

"No." I replied, then stopped. Why had I said no? Was that really the only thing that came to mind? How _stupid_ did that sound?

"Fine, we'll walk." After seeing the surprised look on my face, he added, "Don't worry, we'll get there. On _Tuesday_."

"Sorry," I apologized after clearing my head, "I didn't know what else to say so I just said 'no.'"

He chuckled lightly. "Pick a car." He suggested again. I nodded, gesturing to a blue one. The thought of it matching his eyes made me cringe, but I managed to keep the disgust with myself inside. Chris opened the garage door, and backed out like an expert. I kept my eyes glued to the window, forcing myself to avoid his gaze.

After a few moments of awkward silence, he signed and reached over to the turn on the radio. A Christopher Wilde song came on.

What a surprise.

Chris grinned and began singing along, "Something about the sunshine, baby, I'm seeing you in a whole new light--"

"_Really?_" I interrupted sarcastically.

He glanced over, "What? I thought you'd like it."

I laughed humorlessly, "Let me guess. You thought I'd be dying to ride in a car with _Chris Wilde_ while he sings one of his big hits! A definite fan's dream come true!" I paused, "There's just one problem."

"Which is?" He pressed.

"I'm _not_ a fan."

His smile dropped. "You don't..." He cleared his throat, though there was obviously no reason to, "You don't like my music?"

I shook my head. "No, I like your music."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I'm just not crazy about _you_."

For a while, all that was heard was the music from the radio. Just as I was about to apologize for my rudeness, he opened his mouth and let out a weird noise- as if someone was strangling him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not caring whether my concern showed or not.

"I just-- would you-- um, how-- okay, just listen to me for a second?"

"Okay...?"

"Jess, we used to be-- I mean, we _still_ are, well, at least in my head, best friends." He began. Before I could interrupt again, he held up his finger, "I just-- I mean, there's a _reason_ why I didn't communicate with you for all those years."

"Then why did Stubby--"

"Stubby's parents aren't my parents." He answered grimly, eyes fixed on the road in front of him, "Look, my parents decided one day that it would be best for me not to talk in any way with you. They thought if I talked to a regular girl like you, it'd make my fame drop 'below sea level.'"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Don't ask me." He replied, rolling his eyes, "The only reason my parents allowed Stubby to come with us for the adventure was because he was in that foster home, remember?"

"How could I forget?" I still remembered the time we all went to the home. The memory flashed in my mind- kids everywhere, parents groaning and rubbing their temples, dirt on the floor. I shuddered just thinking about the image.

"You know I _did_ try to convince my parents to let you come along. But they--"

"I know." I cut him off again, "My parents didn't agree to it either. And I was fine with it, but I didn't expect you to forget about me like that!"

"But I _didn't_." Chris emphasized, "I _didn't_ forget about you. Do you know how many times I tried to sneak in an email or text to you? My parents found out _every_ time. They also claimed they'd let me visit you one day, but they were obviously lying. It's a miracle _this_," He gestured to us, "Even happened." He stopped, thinking I'd interrupt again. I didn't.

"I always tell Stub to send you a message or something." He mumbled.

"He does." I replied quietly.

"You never say anything back."

"I know." I sighed, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." There was another moment of silence before he turned toward me again, "You know, I'm only dating Alexis because--"

"I know." I laughed, "Don't think I don't remember how you hate blonde Barbie dolls."

"Okay, okay," He agreed, "So? Now you know the reason. Truce?" He stuck out a hand.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" I reminded him. "But yeah. And I'm sorry for yelling at you." As we pulled to a stop in front of the house, I added, "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime."

I opened the car door, then turned around, "Maybe we could--"

"You know my parents won't--"

"Right."

"We're still friends though, right?" Chris asked hopefully.

I shook my head slowly, "I don't know. I can't--"

"Look, Jess." Chris replied, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Noted. Are we done now?" The words came out more snappy than I'd intended. I hoped he didn't notice. The obvious discomfort in his eyes, however, showed clearly as he stared at me, his blue eyes doing their thing. I turned around quickly before I could get lost in them.

Five minutes later, I heard a tap on the door. I looked around and quickly spied a baseball bat. Grabbing it and taking it with me just in case, I headed over to it.

It was Chris.

"What are you _doing_ here?" I whispered furiously.

"There's a bunch of crazy paparazzi men outside! They're trying to take _pictures_!" He whispered back.

"What exactly am I supposed to do about it?"

"I'll give you five thousand dollars if you do me this one favor."

I looked at him, "Which would be?"

He didn't answer, but instead pulled me outside and positioned us behind the car, motioning for me to push it.

"You want me to _push_ the car?" He nodded. "Push the car _where_?" I asked impatiently.

"In the garage!"

"You're telling me you want to hide out in my garage for the night until the paparazzi go away?" I asked, incredulous. He nodded again. "You're _crazy_."

"There's really no other choice!" He snapped back, "Let's go!"

Fifteen minutes later, we were both inside the garage. My hands hurt and I felt pretty sweaty.

It was gross.

"You'll be out of here _before _morning, right?"

"Yes." He replied, "Hopefully, no one will ever know I was _here_."

"_I'll_ know. And what do you mean by _that_?"

"Nothing, never mind." He quickly said, "Hey, is there anything in here that I can wear so when I _do_ leave, the paparazzi won't recognize me?" I shrugged and pointed to a box on a shelf. He nodded in thanks and rushed over. A second later, he was done rummaging through it, and turned around, with a new hat perched on top of his head.

I smiled as I looked at it, memories of fishing with my Grandpa filling my head. "That was my Grandpa's hat." I said mindlessly, "He used to wear it when he took my fishing."

"Oh, wow." He said, quickly retracting it from his head, "I'm sorry."

I shook my head, "No, it's okay. You can keep it." The next few words tumbled out of my mouth, "It looks kinda good on you anyway."

He grinned. I raised my eyebrow at him, then started to turn away. A hand stopped me and I turned around once more, locking eyes with Chris. He glanced away once, then returned, his blue eyes doing that _thing_ again.

I snapped myself out of it before I could do something stupid. "_Stop_ doing that!"

He looked nervous, "Doing what?"

"You know. You're giving me that..." I scrambled for words. "That... _look. _That look that you give to girls when you expect them to fall for you? Well it's not working with _me_, so _get over it_."

Quickly, I left the room before he could say anything else. If anyone asked why, I'd say he'd been annoying me with that eye thing. But truthfully, deep down, I knew it was because if I'd been back there and he did it again, I'd probably have second thoughts about what I'd just said.

* * *

a/n: ooh la la! things are heatin' up here between Chris and Jess, aren't they? ;) Hahaha. no. just kidding. but i am serious. what'd you think of the chapter?

_Sometimes I get so weird- _I loooooved it!  
_I even freak myself out- _I thought it was pretty okay, and will tune in next time!  
_And laugh myself to sleep-_ thought it was okay, might not check out next chapter.  
_It's my lullaby- _i hated it. end of story.

guess the song? :) and basically every single one of you got the last one right. smile, by uncle kracker! if you haven't already, check it out (: gosh, i should get paid. i'm advertising songs here! jk. OH. and yes- marshall was the SWAC related thing. and also Mitchie from Camp Rock. i seriously forgot that i put her name there. xD anyway, you'll see more of sara & aj in the next chapter.

review? (: and thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers/readers/alerters/favoriters- YOU MAKE ME SMILE :D  
-hayley


	4. Chapter 4

a/n: hello lovely readers -smiles sheepishly- yes, i give you permission to come at me with rotten tomatoes and throw them at me.

i'm SO INCREDIBLY sorry i haven't updated in like 5 gazillion years. in all honesty, i actually lost interest in this story for a little bit. i've been busy and gotten into other stuff, and i just didn't have enough effort to sit down and write this.

a few reviewers though (couldnt get back to you guys because you remained anonymous xD but you know who you are!) reviewed and it made me feel really bad and then i watched some starstruck goodness and finally got back into this. thanks guys :D

anyway, here's the 4th chapter! there's not really anything from the movie, because these scenes are purely from my imagination. i kinda thought this was necessary before jess finally become comfortable with chris. felt like a big chunk was missing in the movie, especially from this part. let me know if you agree!

enjoy!

* * *

-4-

**_Jess_**

"Jess." Someone nudged me with their elbow.

I sighed loudly and flopped over, hoping whoever the annoying person was would get the hint and leave. _Someone_ was trying to sleep here.

"_Jess_." The person whispered again, poking my side.

"Five minutes, mom." I groaned.

"_Jessica Olsen!" _

I heaved a dramatic sigh and sat up, rubbing my eyes. And then I stared. Because standing in front of me wasn't exactly my _mom_. In fact, Christopher Wilde definitely did _not_ look like my mom.

"What are you _doing_ here?" I whispered loudly.

He smirked, "Uh, don't you remember? The paparazzi bombarded me so I had to hide in your garage." He raised his eyebrow and looked at me. I could only guess where he was going next. "And _then_,"

"Don't even go there." I muttered. "What are you doing up_ here_? Did someone see you?"

"Er..." He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, "Actually, your grandma came down in the morning to get something and she saw my car parked there. Then she looked inside and saw me, and invited me in!"

There was a pause as silence took over while I tried to digest his words. When I did, I lept out of my bed and started to shove him out the door. "Don't you think you'd cause a complete mess if you stayed here? The paparazzi are probably right outside my door!"

"Jess," He easily resisted my push, _"_Relax."

_"_Relax?" I repeated, starting to hyperventilate a little, _"Relax_? You're telling me to relax? Sara and AJ are going to kill me as soon as they sees you, my mom and dad will ask you crazy questions about how we haven't been talking, and like I said, the paparazzi are going to find us and _take pictures_, and do videos, and create crazy rumors about us, and then we'll _all _die!"

His smirk came back again, "Jess, I highly doubt we'll die.

"We'll come close!"

"Oh, please." He waved a hand, "Come on. It'll be like old times." His eyes started to do that puppy-dog look I was so used to, "Just this once. _Please_?"

"_Please_ get out of my room."

"So is that a yes?" His facial expression brightened.

I pointed a finger at him, "I didn't say that."

"Jess!"

I rolled my eyes, biting my lip to keep the smile threatening to burst out. "_Fine_. But go. You can't see me change or anything."

"Oh come on." Chris said, "We've seen each other in our _diapers_ when we were little."

I looked at him, snickering, "Are you saying you _want_ to see me undress?"

His face suddenly looked paler. "On second thought," He replied, "I'll wait downstairs."

After rolling my eyes and muttering curses out as I heard Sara and AJ shriek simultaneously when they saw the blonde boy, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a simple shirt. Just as I was heading out the door, my sister and her crazy friend came barging in.

"JESSICA!" They both screamed.

"_What_?" I replied in exasperation.

"Why didn't you-" AJ started.

"Tell us-" Sara cut in,

"That _Christopher Wilde_-" AJ butted in, elbowing Sara in the stomach.

"Was in our house?" Sara finished, earning a glare from her best friend.

I looked up at the sky- er, ceiling. "It wasn't exactly planned?"

"Oh _tell_ me that you didn't head off with him last night." Sara said, "_That's_ where you went?"

"You could've stayed with us!" AJ added, "And used your 'best-friend' power to get him to meet us _last night_!"

"That was our _goal_." said Sara.

"But you _told_ me to stay inside the car." I reminded them impatiently, pushing past them and running out the door. I looked up at the ceiling and willed myself not to punch the two girls as they started talking in whispers while somehow being able to scream and giggle at the same time. I had to wonder if it took a lot of energy to act that way. All that laughing and shrieking sure sounded like a lot of work.

"Jessica!" My grandma called out as I walked in the kitchen. "Have some pancakes!"

"You didn't tell us you were inviting Christopher over." Mom added with a knowing smile.

"_Mom!_" I groaned, avoiding Chris's gaze and sitting down as far away from the rockstar as possible.

"And you certainly didn't tell us you were actually a fan of your best friend." Dad said. I turned toward Chris and shot daggers at him through my eyes as he took a sip of his orange juice and smirked his head off.

"He told us all about last night." Mom said.

"He did?" I asked, waiting for a lecture on leaving without contacting Sara.

"_Yes_." Dad replied, "I was very surprised to learn that Chris saw you while you were screaming in the audience while he was performing."

"Oh, _really_." I said sarcastically, telling my eyes to shoot fire balls at the boy who was now choking on his pancakes with laughter. "Well let me just tell you that that did _not_ happen!"

"Oh, Jessica," Grandma said kindly, "It's alright. It's perfectly understandable. In fact, Chris says he has the day off today. I'll let you off the hook from helping us pull weeds today so you two can go spend some time together."

"Oh, that's really not necessary." I said back, "In fact, I'd really rather pull weeds with you guys."

"Yeah," Sara interrupted the conversation, "Why doesn't _Jessica_ stay home while AJ and I take her place of spending time with Christopher since she's so _willing_ to pull out some weeds?"

"Oh, pish posh," Grandma said, waving her hand around and winking at me, "You'll get your chance soon. Today is Jessica's day. We all know the two best friends have really missed each other."

"Grandma, that's really not-"

"_Thank_ you." Chris cut me off, "for letting Jessica spend time with me while she's supposed to be doing yard work. It means a lot to both of us."

"Oh!" Mom suddenly spoke up, "Why don't you join us for dinner too, Chris? I remember the good old days, back when you weren't famous of course," She smiled, "When you used to join us every Friday for our spaghetti nights."

"Oh, yeah!" Chris replied, smiling back, "I'd love to. It'll be like old times." he shot me a grin.

In turn, I glared back. "It sure will," I muttered out of the corner of my mouth, "It _sure_ will."

After another half hour of listening to my parents squeal about seeing Chris again, Grandma hauled everyone, including Sara and AJ, to the front lawn while smiling brightly and winking at Chris.

The traitor smoothly set his napkin down and raised his eyebrows. "Ready?"

I snorted, "Ready for what?"

"I got you out of pulling those suckers" He pointed at Sara, who was disgustedly holding a spikey looking plant at her fingertips, "out for your Grandma. Don't you think you owe me just a little?"

I rolled my eyes and faked a smile. "No."

"Jess, you _promised_ you'd give me a chance to explain!"

"You did explain!"

"Then don't you understand?" He asked, "I've _missed_ you, Jess. I really did. Let me just spend some time with you. For _one_ day." After a pause, he added, "If you want, we can even invite Stub to come along."

"No." I said stubbornly, crossing my arms.

"Jess!"

"No."

"Jess!"

"No!"

"Jess!"

"_Fine_." I got up and glared at him, "But you can't _ever_ make up lies about me screaming in the audience while you're performing again."

"Oh come on," Chris grinned, "That was just a joke." After seeing my frightening glare, he added cockily, "After all, what are _best friends _for?"

_**Chris**_

"Stub!" I called into the phone.

"Yeah, man." A sleepy voice responded, "What's up? And where did you head off to last night?"

I looked around, waiting for Jess to come downstairs. "I'll explain later. Do you want to come bowling with us?"

Silence.

"Stubby?"

"Who's _us_? _Please_ don't tell me you're at Alexis Bender's house right now!"

I let out a chuckle and a sigh of relief, "No. I'm talking about Jess. I'm at her house right now. She finally agreed to let me explain about why I've been-"

"You're at _Jessie's_ house?"

"Yeah. Look," I replied, "I said I'd explain why later. Do you want to come? It might... ease the tension between us."

"Sure!" Stubby replied excitedly, "It'd be like old times! We can get pizza, bowl until Jess finally agrees that we're the best bowlers, and sing some karaoke in that corner of the bowling alley."

I laughed, "Yeah, exactly. I'll pick you up in 15." I stopped, hearing the sound of munching on the other line, "Stub? Are you _eating_ more of my food?"

"No..." He said in a guilt filled voice. "See you in 15."

"Hey," Jess said as she came down the staircase, clad in her simple blue shirt and jeans. Only _she_ could make an outfit as ordinary as that seem outstanding. "Where are we going?"

I grinned, ignoring her eye rolls, "_Bowling_."

Her mouth opened slightly as her eyes brightened at the word. I smiled to myself. Bowling was always something Jess loved to do, even if she lost half the time.

"Won't the paparazzi-"

"Forget about them." I said, "That bowling alley is filled with celebrities. Nobody would care even if you were _Lady Gaga_."

"Are you sure?" She pressed, "Won't at least someone take a picture or something?"

I shook my head and offered her my elbow, "Shall we?"

She refrained from rolling her eyes again, then hook her arm around mine, sending weird tingling feelings down my spine. "We _shall_."

The ride back over to my house was surprisingly pleasant. The paparazzi were either asleep or dead, either of which was fine with me as they didn't pop up once. As I pulled into the driveway, Stubby flew out the door with a giant sandwich in his hands, opening the back door and climbing in, high fiving Jess and patting my back as a greeting.

"I thought you said you _weren't_ eating my food," I chuckled.

"Well I got hungry." Stubby complained, "Besides, I can't bowl on an empty stomach!"

"You can't do _anything_ on an empty stomach." Jess added.

"That's true, little brunette, that's true." He laughed and leaned back, muching happily on his ham and cheese. "Now, I'll go easy on you Jessie, but I wouldn't expect anything."

"Yeah," I said, "Albert Stubbons here is _still_ the best bowler in town."

Two hours later, the two of us groaned as Jess threw her arms up in the air, grinning and smirking at the two of us.

"Another strike by the great Jessica Olsen!" She exclaimed, settling down into the plastic orange chair across from us.

"How have you gone from this..." I gestured wildly with my hands, "This... _loser_ bowler to a girl with crazy good bowling skills!"

Stubby raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "Have you been practicing since we left?"

She winked, "Maybe a little. But seeing the little talent that you two have shown today, I'm guessing you guys haven't?"

"It doesn't matter!" Stubby defended, "We're still better than you. You've only beaten us," A glance at the scoreboard and a cringe, "eight times! That's barely anything."

Jessica smiled slyly, "Care to rematch?"

"Lets," I cut in before Stubby could accept the challenge, "Just all agree that we're equal in bowling, okay? Besides, I think it's about time we order that pizza. I can see _some _of us," A glare at Stubby, who grinned not-so-guiltily, "are getting hungry here."

"You guys are just afraid of losing again." Jess mocked.

"No we're not!" Stubby and I both said.

"Besides," said Stubby, "It _is_ about time we order that pizza. I'm getting some starvation vibes here!"

Jessica stared at him. "Starvation vibes?" Stubby smiled brightly in response.

Our pizza (the usual, pepperoni on one side, cheese on the other) came quickly and we all dug in. As Stubby burped and patted his stomach, Jess looked at both of us and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked.

"You know," She replied thoughtfully, "You guys _really_ haven't changed that much. I'm surprised."

Stubby burped again, "Why are you surprised? You didn't expect us to become these super creepy Hollywood dolls, did you?"

"No," She tried again, "I just... I thought you guys had changed or something because you really didn't even talk to me for _four_ years."

"Hey!" I replied, "I _said-"_

"I know what you said," Jess interrupted, "I just thought maybe you changed anyway."

"Well, we didn't." I said firmly.

"I _know_ that now." She said sarcastically, shooting a glare in my direction.

"You know, you haven't changed either." Stubby pointed out, "Still shooting those monsterous glares at everybody, using that sarcasm even when it's not necessary-" He paused, grinning wickedly, "Plus, you and my boy Chris here still _flirt_ like crazy."

We both turned on him. "_What_!"

"Chris has a girlfriend!" Jess said, almost angrily.

"We do _not_ flirt." I added in afterwards.

"Oh, please." Stubby waved off our comments, "Alexis Bender? He doesn't even _like_ her. Heck, I don't even like her. Do _you_ like her?" He asked pointedly at Jess.

"Doesn't matter." She said stubbornly, crossing her arms, avoiding my gaze.

Stubby stood up suddenly, changing the topic. "Why don't we go do some karaoke?" He suggested, "Bowling is never complete without some _karaoke_."

I groaned, "I do enough singing as is it!"

"Are you scared?" Jess challenged.

"_No_."

"Then prove it!" Stubby backed her up. Both headed off towards the karaoke machine and I followed. The pair currently at the place backed out, allowing the three of us to move in.

"Chris, you can go first." Jess said, shoving me toward the machine.

"And _you_ have to sing with him!" Stubby said, shoving her towards me.

The crowd around the place cheered and a random guy walked out and selected a song. As the music started, I felt myself smirking as Jessica slapped her forehead.

"Why _this_ song!" She whined.

"It's a classic!" Someone in the audience shouted.

"Plus, it's a _Chris_ song. Christopher Wilde has to sing one of his songs!" Another random crowd member yelled.

I ignored Jessica's scowl and begin to sing the first verse. As the chorus came up, I nudged her side and she sighed loudly, but joining in, our voices merging.

_"There's something about the sunshine, baby, I'm seeing you in a whole new light,"_

The song went on and she began to soften, dancing along with the beat and even smiling. I let her take over for the second verse, beaming. I snuck a glance at Stubby, who was dancing along and he gave me a big smile and a thumbs up.

_"I never knew, _  
_Whatever I do,_  
_Is better with you" _

The lyrics were right. Jess was right. And Jessica Olsen was back. She was _finally_ back. I joined in with her, not caring about anything else right now. It didn't matter what my parents were thinking right now. It didn't matter where the paparazzi were. All that mattered right now, was that I finally had my best friend back.

And that just felt like the greatest thing in the world.

* * *

a/n: hope you liked the chapter! :D i sure enjoyed writing it x]

remember the drill?

_I throw my hands up: _you loved it! and will patiently (heheh) wait for the next chapter

_In the air sometimes: _you thought it was pretty good, and will tune in for the next chapter

_Saying ayyy-ohh:_ you thought it was okay, but might not read the next chapter

_Gotta let go:_ hate hate hate hate.

guess the song? such a fun summer song :D

anyway, thank you guys so much for sticking with the story. i know i haven't been the best at updating (hah, understatement of the year) and now you know why. i'm back into the ff groooove now though, and hopefully i'll be able to type out another chapter of this lovely thing soon for you all :) LOVE YOU GUYS.

-hayley

**PS! if you're a nelena/nalex fan and is looking for something good to read, check out my collab account with xxHeadInTheStarsxx! it's called _scribbling stars_ and our nalex story, "Forever Yours" is either posted now or will be soon. check it out! comment, subscribe, etc. thanks (:**


	5. Chapter 5

a/n: DINNERTIME!

* * *

-5-

_**Jess**_

"Where's Chris?" Sara asked worriedly, then looked towards Mom. "You _did_ invite him for dinner, didn't you?"

"That I did." Mom nodded patiently, "But it _is_ his choice whether he wants to come or not, you know."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again and accidentally caught Grandma's gaze. She looked knowingly at me and I sighed. "He's with Stubby. They're both coming in a little while. Hopefully the paparazzi won't come and take pictures or videos and show them on national television or something."

"Eee!" Sara screeched excitedly, dragging AJ along as she ran off towards her room.

Grandma shook her head in amusement at the two, then turned to me. "How was bowling, dear?"

I smiled at the recent memory. Beating the two boys at bowling and singing a stupid Christopher Wilde song with _the_ Chris Wilde was more fun than I had anticipated. Being at the bowling alley made me notice how much I really did miss Stubby and- dare I say- Chris. Even better, I hadn't had to pay a cent. Hanging out with a rich rockstar really did have its benefits. The only downside was the very real possibility of a Sara-and-AJ-led disaster when the boys came over for dinner.

Before I could answer, the doorbell rang so she threw me a "we-will-talk-about-this-later-dear" look while she walked to get the door. In a split second, newly-dressed Sara and AJ waltzed in front of her and opened the door, then proceeded to strike ridiculously embarrassing poses which surprised Chris and made Stubby burst out laughing.

"Hello boys!" Sara said, mostly to Chris, in what I presumed was supposed to be a flirtatious voice. AJ stood beside her awkwardly, holding the door with one hand while her other struck a pose on her left hip.

"Uh, hey..." Chris answered, "Um, not to be rude or anything, but could we come in? The paparazzi are on the chase for me and I'm pretty sure they're going to show up at any second."

"We even had to use that doctor's stupid car again!" Stubby cried.

"Ooh, paparazzi?" Sara ignored them, "Where? If I can get my picture taken maybe Tyra will see my beautiful face and ask me to model or be on her reality TV show!"

"And then I can be your handy sidekick that will make her debut appearance alongside you!" AJ said, letting go of the door. Unfortunately for her, the door whammed into the wall and flew back into her and she crumbled to the ground. I held back my laughter as Chris and Stubby stepped over the girl while Sara tried to pull her friend off the ground.

"My boys!" Grandma cooed. She gave each of them a warm hug and a peck on the cheek, throwing Stubby off balance.

"Wow, Grandma!" He replied, "I forgot how awesome you were!"

"I didn't." Chris grinned cheekily at his friend

"Oh, hush, Christopher." Grandma warmly smiled, "Come on everyone! Dinner's almost ready! Spaghetti and meatballs, Chris's favorite." She winked at the blonde boy who in turn beamed back.

"If I didn't know any better," Stubby quipped, "I'd think Chris is Grandma's favorite!" Grandma gave a stern look and reached to hug Stubby. When they let go, the two began to argue about the secret of the spaghetti recipe.

As the two argued, Chris tried to help me set the table. "Careful now," He smirked, "You might cut yourselves with those knives."

"I'm not _that_ clumsy," I retorted back, then decided to prove myself by setting the table faster. Unfortunately, my body proceeded to knock itself into a chair while my brain had no control. Really. It was painfully embarrassing how my body refused to listen to my brain sometimes. Ignoring Chris's growing smirk, I set the rest of the table and slapped his arm painfully, running away into the living room. I rolled my eyes as familiar footsteps followed me and I turned around. "Quit following me!"

"Is it making you feel uncomfortable?" His blue eyes gleamed with amusement.

"Yes." I snapped.

"Aw, but Jess," He replied in a sickly sweet tone, "I'm your _best friend_, remember?"

"Who didn't mention me a single time in any of his interviews." I pointed out. His eyes hardened and he crossed his arms, looking out the kitchen window. I sighed, suppressing the strange urge to kiss him. Really, what was my subconscious thinking? I opened my mouth again, "I didn't mean it like that. I forgive you, remember? I thought bowling was evidence of that." When he didn't answer, I poked his arm, "_Really_."

"Okay." He visibly relaxed again. "I really did mean it when I said sorry, you know."

I gave him a small smile, "I know."

The loud, enthusiastic yelp from Stubby informed us that dinner was served. Chris's face automatically lighted up at the thought of my grandma's delicious food and we moved back to the dining room. After plunking myself down in a seat, I patiently waited for Sara and AJ to find themselves a suitable seat for themselves- which of course meant being on either side of a very uncomfortable-looking Chris. Stubby, oblivious to Chris's expression, took the seat next to me and rubbed his hands together greedily.

"Now Stubby," Grandma warned teasingly, "Don't take too much of the spaghetti. We don't want you becoming fat, now do we?"

Chris chuckled, "Nothing you say can stop him from eating, Grandma."

"Now Jessica," Grandma turned to me, "_You_ have to take more food."

"I have enough." I said, motioning to my plate in what I thought was a very convincing way.

Apparently I wasn't convincing enough, because Grandma muttered to herself about how I was a growing girl, oblivious to Chris and Stubby's snickers, and began loading my plate with another roll, more salad, and three more meatballs.

I sighed, but smiled. "Thanks, I guess."

Dinner went by smoothly. Surprisingly, Sara and AJ were too hungry to bombard Chris with flirtatious questions and Stubby kept the table laughing with entertaining stories. My mom and Grandma threw knowing glances at each other every once in a while (oddly whenever Chris began to talk), but Grandma kept things light too by teasing her favorite boys. Dinner did become slightly awkward, however, when my Dad turned to Chris and asked him why he hadn't mentioned our family to any reporters.

"Dad," I quickly said, embarrassed. It wasn't our place to ask something like that.

"No," He said, "I'd really like to know. I mean, the boy used to come here every night and throw spaghetti at Sara!" At this, Sara turned bright red. "It just seems a bit strange for him not to mention his strong relationship with our family."

His tone was alarmingly clipped. Like he was angry. I remembered that one night when I'd wailed to my parents about Chris and his fame. Dad had been very sympathetic, very understanding. It only now occurred to me that he was wary of the rockstar because Chris had hurt me.

"It's a bit complicated." Chris answered after another long pause.

"Do explain." Dad interrupted.

"Um, well-"

"Dad, it's okay." I cut in. "Let it go."

"But you were crying to us about-"

"Dad."

Dad's shoulders dropped in defeat. "Okay."

"Well then," Grandma piped up cheerily, "Why don't the kids go and watch a movie? I'll clean up."

"I'll help!" I volunteered, then glared at Chris and Stubby as the two stood up to help.

Mom grinned and clapped her hands, "Let's go upstairs," She suggested to Grandma and Dad, "Give these three some time to catch up."

"What about us?" Sara whined.

"We can help with the dishes too!" AJ shouted, as if it were the most brilliant thing she'd ever come up with. _Unfortunately for her_, I thought sarcastically, _that _was_ probably the smartest thing she'd ever thought of. _

"That won't be necessary," Chris smiled his heartwarming grin. "We'll come up and chill with you after we're done."

Sara's eyes brightened like a little girl who received an ice cream cone. "Promise!"

He bit back a laugh, "Promise."

Stubby outwardly groaned and slapped his hand to his forehead. "You and your stupid promises!"

My sister and AJ scampered off upstairs and the grownups were nowhere to be seen. "Great," I mockingly said, "Alone with you two."

"You sure seemed to like it this afternoon," Chris replied, raising an eyebrow. Stubby stood beside him grinning a bit too widely.

I threw two towels at them, "Get to work you losers."

**_Chris_**

Another groan from the dining room was heard. "How messy does your sister eat?" Stubby shouted. Then came the loud crash and the very audible curses. My lips twitched and I snuck a glance at Jess. She seemed to be on the verge of laughter too and when her eyes met mine, we both burst out laughing.

"Laughing at my misery?" Stubby acknowledged the two of us as he strolled in, holding his arm. We didn't stop laughing, and he walked to the fridge and pulled out an ice pack, muttering to himself. "Sadists. I _knew _I shouldn't have stood up with Chris. That stupid goody-goody."

"You're a goody-goody?" Jess asked me, her eyes twinkling.

I had to pull my own eyes away from her brown eyes. "Of course I am." I answered teasingly, "You know me, Christopher Wilde, the good boy."

"A little too good."

"What do you mean? I'm _just_ good enough."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Stubby skidded to a stop in the kitchen. "_What_ were you two weasels talking about _this_ time?"

"Weasel?" Jess asked.

"Whatever." Stubby said, waving her challenge off, "I'm just saying. You guys are a _little_ too young, in my opinion, to be talking about being _good_." He waggled his eyebrows, "If you know what I mean." Barely avoiding my punch, he wiggled his fingers and dashed off back to the still-messy table.

The conversation drifted away and Jess and I spent time talking about lives without each other. When it got to another pause, Jess spoke again. "I wasn't kidding about you being too good."

My brow furrowed, "What are you talking about?"

"I heard you're doing a movie."

"That..." My mind tried to comprehend what she was saying, "Doesn't clarify anything."

"Do you even _want_ to do that movie?" She asked me, looking up from the pile of dishes she was drying. "I mean, ever since you were little, you weren't interested in acting or anything. It was all about music and singing. And having a good time." She looked pointedly at me, "Sometimes in interviews, you just sound plain tired and miserable."

I shifted uncomfortably. She'd hit it spot on. "How could you tell I was miserable?" When she gave me a look that clearly said I'm-your-best-friend-remember?, I put down my rag, ready to talk in all seriousness with her.

"I..." I began, then paused.

"Well?" She asked, "If you can't tell me, who _can_ you tell?"

"It's just hard." I said stubbornly, "I've never told anyone this before."

Her eyes softened, "Come on. I'm your best friend, remember?"

Her words hit me like a rock. It was the first time she'd spoken those wonderful words since we'd bumped into each other. If she said it, I knew she meant it. I sat down on a stool and she followed suit. "It's not that I don't want to do the movie." I began again. "It's just... I don't really have a choice."

"Everyone has a choice."

"Not me." I replied, looking at the floor. "My parents- managers think this movie's my next big career move."

"Well, what do you think?"

"I don't know." I answered truthfully, "I haven't really had the chance to think about it. But if I get the offer, then I'll have to take it."

"What about your tour?" She looked almost concerned. I had no idea why.

"My tour?"

"How are you planning to do your tour along with a movie? You're going to be dead by the end of it!"

I smiled, "Calm down."

"I'm serious, Chris." She replied, "I don't want to go my best friend's funeral and have reporters in my face wondering if I killed him or something." Her humor was getting to me. I almost laughed in spite of the serious topic. "What do you _want_ to do?"

Her words, for the second time, hit me like a rock. I'd never been asked that question since the fame began. It was like my parents-managers made all the decisions for me. "Well I know what I don't want to do." I answered. "I don't want to disappoint anybody. Especially my fans."

She didn't say anything.

"So I don't really ever say no." I continued, "Or... say anything."

She didn't say anything again. I slung an arm around her, then smiled in her face. "Jess? You didn't turn into a mute, did you?"

"Maybe I don't understand." She said quietly. "I don't understand your life. I thought I had it all figured out and I thought everything was all fine and dandy, but I was wrong." She took a deep breath, "And I'm sorry."

Her words hit me for the third time. She never apologized unless it was absolutely necessary. And now, I knew for sure that she'd forgiven me and understood my position. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

I put on a smile and stood up. "Come on," I said, holding my hand out to help Jess up. "Let's go do something."

She wrinkled her nose. Adorably, I might add. "_Now_?"

"No, at midnight." I said sarcastically, "Yes, now. Your Grandma said you guys had movies right?"

She nodded, "Lots."

"Well lets go pop in a few."

"I thought you promised Sara we'd go 'chill' with them." She reminded me.

"You and your stupid promises!" We heard Stubby groan again.

I laughed. "Alright, alright. Well then, let's do something tomorrow."

"What about the paparazzi?"

"Are you purposely trying to avoid hanging out with me?" I challenged, poking her arm.

She poked back. "No, I'm just saying, if the paparazzi took pictures of _anything_, people would start asking questions."

I winked at her, ignoring the pointed look on her face. "Don't worry, _Jessica_." Paparazzi or not, my best friend and I were spending another day tomorrow together. Even if it took a little lying and disguising to go along with it. I'd missed her too much for her to say no. We were going to have fun, and that was that. I smiled at my plan. "I think I've got it covered."

And her words hit me again, for the fourth time, when she smiled back, "Alright, Christopher Wilde. I'll go. You win."

* * *

a/n: hm... it's been a while, huh?

i know, i know, it's been too long in between updates and i'll spare you long explanations about why, but hey- i said i'd finish this sucker and i will. in fact, i'm even in the process of planning the next chapter out already.

anyway, hope this chapter was enjoyable, and i will hopefully update sooner and quicker for you guys :)

thank you to all my readers and reviewers for supporting me... even when i'm off doing something other than updating this: **trustxbelieve. xxHeadInTheStarsxx. kitsune jewel. Ilovemydad. Number 8.0. li' miss sunshine. Julia Sonshine. bookworm1256. lily. Luna. DancingintheRayne. hello. ILove2Write13. gotta let go. LoveTheNight. CauseImFearless. Hellkat53. Annastacia Foster. oxlifexo. L 94. [blank anonymous reviewer]. Twilight Obsessed Twilight. Hotgirlow. CoolColorOfPurple. hi. me. cameron. xXHEaVeN-CaN-WaITXx. Miz636. Sullyranger. channyLover777. the yellow submarine. alphaladywolf. loveanglemusicbaby. squirtlee16. spwarkle. Anita. Read 2 Believe. Lily. Mason and Alex.**

you guys are amazing!

codewords

_avada kedavra!: _I MISSED YOU SO VERY MUCH ADN YOU'RE SO FREAKING AMAZING AND I ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER VERY, VERY MUCH. 3 **(hehehe. just a boost of self esteem for myself there)**_  
_

_ron weasley: _okay chapter, will look forward to reading more_  
_

_neville longbottom: _okay chapter, may or may not read more._  
_

_he-who-shall-not-be-named: _terrible, girl, terrible. stick to reading harry potter

-hayley

**BY THE WAY WHO LOVES HARRY POTTER LIKE ME AND WISHES IT WEREN'T OVER? did you guys enjoy the last movie? did you go to the midnight premiere and applauded and cheered like crazy like i did? ;D**_  
_


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